Paintball backpack hopper with positive feed device to deliver paintballs to a paintball gun without jamming problems

Abstract

This invention is directed toward a device and method of providing a substantial quantity of paintballs to a paintball gun in a manner which minimizes the target silhouette of the user and allows him/her to supply the paintball gun with relative ease, safety, and efficiency in that he/she does not have to reach for paintball pods to refill his/her marker. A force-feed mechanism removes paintballs from the backpack hopper and feeds them into the marker, while a ratcheting ceiling communicates with a sensor and brings the ceiling of the backpack hopper down on the remaining paintballs as more are fired to ensure that there is a constant pressure feeding the remaining paintballs into the force feed mechanism. The invention also optionally provides for an air canister located in the backpack hopper which even further lowers the player's profile as a target and protects the canister from damage.

1. A device to provide a steady supply of paintballs to a paintball gun, comprising:
 a backpack hopper which can contain at least 500 paintballs, which consists of a cavity defined by six sides made of plastic or a similar strong and rigid material, and two or more shoulder straps; 
 a sensor mechanism which senses the removal of paintballs from the backpack hopper and conveys that information to a mechanism which causes the space in which unused paintballs are resting to decrease in volume; 
 a positive feed device attached to or as a part of the backpack hopper; and 
 a feed tube which carries the paintballs from the backpack hopper to the paintball gun, 
 
     where the positive feed device comprises:
 a first belt device consisting of a conveyer belt rotating around two drive gears, where the conveyer belt has sets of spacers embedded on it which are located such that a paintball fits in between each set; 
 a slot above the top of the first belt device where the walls of the slot are wide enough to accommodate one paintball; 
 a second belt device consisting of a conveyer belt rotating around two drive gears, with an upper side and a lower side, where the conveyer belt has a series of clasps which can grasp a paintball when force is applied to the outside of each clasp; 
 a sensor in the feed tube which detects when the player is no longer shooting his/her marker and releasing paintballs from the backpack hopper, where, when the sensor detects pressure building up between two or more paintballs in the feed tube, the sensor causes the first belt device and the second belt device to stop turning; 
 a top slot above the top of the second belt device where two walls of the slot extend diagonally out approximate 60 degrees, thereby allowing for paintballs above the slot to filter down into the slot, the 60 degree walls allowing for the clasps to remain in an “open” position such that they do not grasp the paintballs; 
 a bottom slot below the bottom side of the conveyer belt, the walls of which extend down at a 90 degree angle to the conveyer belt to a second belt slot bottom, thereby putting pressure on the clasps such that the clasps grasp each paintball as it is deposited onto the second belt slot bottom, such that each paintball is forcefully propelled along the bottom slot; 
 a feed tube deflector which constricts the bottom slot such that it allows only the conveyer belt and the clasps to leave the bottom slot and continue around the drive gear, thereby forcing the paintballs into a feed tube; and 
 where the feed tube additionally comprises a hollow, flexible length of plastic, rubber or other sturdy, resilient, and flexible material, which takes the paintballs from the bottom slot and delivers them to the paintball gun. 
 
   
   
     2. The device of  claim 1 , where, the backpack hopper has a hip belt which attaches around the waist of a user. 
   
   
     3. The device of  claim 2 , where, the shoulder straps are connected to each other by a chest strap. 
   
   
     4. The device of  claim 1 , where, the mechanism which causes the space in which unused paintballs are resting to decrease in volume is a ratcheting ceiling, located inside the backpack hopper, which moves down upon the remaining paintballs as the user shoots paintballs, and where the ratcheting ceiling is powered by an inflatable bag in between the top of the backpack hopper and the ratcheting ceiling, which is designed to inflate to take up additional space as more paintballs are fired. 
   
   
     5. The device of  claim 1 , where, there are internal supports to maintain the shape of the backpack. 
   
   
     6. The device of  claim 1 , where, there are external supports to maintain the shape of the backpack. 
   
   
     7. The device of  claim 1 , where, the backpack is made from a sturdy fabric which is rigid enough to hold its shape when filled with paintballs. 
   
   
     8. The device of  claim 1 , where, the backpack hopper additionally comprises an air canister which supplies a supply of air to a marker through an air tube. 
   
   
     9. A device to provide a steady supply of paintballs to a paintball gun, comprising:
 a backpack hopper which can contain at least 500 paintballs, which consists of a cavity defined by six sides made of plastic or a similar strong and rigid material, and two or more shoulder straps, where the shoulder straps are connected to each other by a chest strap, and where there is a support for the backpack hopper; 
 a feed tube which carries the paintballs from the backpack hopper to the paintball gun; 
 a sensor in the feed tube which detects when the player is no longer shooting his/her marker and releasing paintballs from the backpack hopper, where, when the sensor detects pressure building up between two or more paintballs in the feed tube, the sensor causes a first belt device and a second belt device to stop turning; 
 a hip belt which attaches around the waist of a user; 
 a mechanism located inside the backpack hopper which causes the space in which unused paintballs are resting to decrease in volume as the user shoots paintballs; where, the mechanism is a ratcheting ceiling, 
 
     and
 a positive feed device attached to or as a part of the backpack hopper, where, the positive feed device comprises:
 a first belt device consisting of a conveyer belt rotating around two drive gears, where the conveyer belt has sets of spacers embedded on it which are located such that a paintball fits in between each set; 
 a slot above the top of the first belt device where the walls of the slot are wide enough to accommodate one paintball, 
 a second belt device consisting of a conveyer belt rotating around two drive gears, with an upper side and a lower side, where the conveyer belt has a series of clasps which can grasp a paintball when force is applied to the outside of each clasp, 
 a top slot above the top of the second belt device where two walls of the slot extend diagonally out approximate 60 degrees, thereby allowing for paintballs above the slot to filter down into the slot, the 60 degree walls allowing for the clasps to remain in an “open” position such that they do not grasp the paintballs, 
 a bottom slot below the bottom side of the conveyer belt, the walls of which extend down at a 90 degree angle to the conveyer belt to a second belt slot bottom, thereby putting pressure on the clasps such that the clasps grasp each paintball as it is deposited onto the second belt slot bottom, such that each paintball is forcefully propelled along the bottom slot, 
 a feed tube deflector which constricts the bottom slot such that it allows only the conveyer belt and the clasps to leave the bottom slot and continue around the drive gear, thereby forcing the paintballs into a feed tube, and 
 a feed tube comprising a hollow, flexible length of plastic, rubber or other sturdy, resilient, and flexible material, which takes the paintballs from the bottom slot and delivers them to the paintball gun. 
 
 
   
   
     10. The device of  claim 9 , where, the ratcheting ceiling is powered by an inflatable bag in between the top of the backpack hopper and the ratcheting ceiling, which is designed to inflate to take up additional space as more paintballs are fired. 
   
   
     11. The device of  claim 9 , where, the ratcheting ceiling is powered by a mechanical device, which is designed to ratchet the ratcheting ceiling down to take up additional space as more paintballs are fired. 
   
   
     12. The device of  claim 9 , where, the support is selected from a group consisting of internal supports, and a sturdy fabric from which the backpack hopper is made which is sufficiently stiff to provide adequate support to keep the backpack hopper from collapsing during use. 
   
   
     13. The device of  claim 9 , where, the backpack hopper additionally comprises an air canister located within the cavity for the purpose of supplying the paintball gun. 
   
   
     14. A method of supplying paintballs to a paintball gun during a paintball game, comprising the steps of:
 obtaining a backpack hopper, comprising:
 a backpack hopper which can contain at least 500 paintballs, which consists of a cavity defined by six sides made of plastic or a similar strong and rigid material, and two or more shoulder straps, 
 a sensor mechanism which senses the removal of paintballs from the backpack hopper and conveys that information to a mechanism which causes the space in which unused paintballs are resting to decrease in volume, 
 a feed tube which carries the paintballs from the backpack hopper to the paintball gun, 
 a sensor in the feed tube which detects when the player is no longer shooting his/her marker and releasing paintballs from the backpack hopper, where, when the sensor detects pressure building up between two or more paintballs in the feed tube, the sensor causes a first belt device and a second belt device to stop turning, and
 a positive feed device coupled to the backpack hopper, where, the positive feed device comprises: 
 
 a first belt device consisting of a conveyer belt rotating around two drive gears, where the conveyer belt has sets of spacers embedded on it which are located such that a paintball fits in between each set, 
 a slot above the top of the first belt device where the walls of the slot are wide enough to accommodate one paintball, 
 a second belt device consisting of a conveyer belt rotating around two drive gears, with an upper side and a lower side, where the conveyer belt has a series of clasps which can grasp a paintball when force is applied to the outside of each clasp, 
 a top slot above the top of the second belt device where two walls of the slot extend diagonally out approximate 60 degrees, thereby allowing for paintballs above the slot to filter down into the slot, the 60 degree walls allowing for the clasps to remain in an “open” position such that they do not grasp the paintballs, 
 a bottom slot below the bottom side of the conveyer belt, the walls of which extend down at a 90 degree angle to the conveyer belt to a second belt slot bottom, thereby putting pressure on the clasps such that the clasps grasp each paintball as it is deposited onto the second belt slot bottom, such that each paintball is forcefully propelled along the bottom slot, 
 a feed tube deflector which constricts the bottom slot such that it allows only the conveyer belt and the clasps to leave the bottom slot and continue around the drive gear, thereby forcing the paintballs into a feed tube, and 
 a feed tube comprising a hollow, flexible length of plastic, rubber or other sturdy, resilient, and flexible material, which takes the paintballs from the bottom slot and delivers them to the paintball gun; 
 
 attaching the backpack hopper to a marker; and
 engaging in a game of paintball.